u/EveningDetective599

I built an app called NEXT, a local discovery + skill progression thing for iOS. Complete quests, level up, track mastery. A gamified real-world exploration, basically.

The original idea was bigger:
"start a game IRL".
Think real locations, real challenges, integrate businesses missions like delivery and ride hailing.. , but I had no idea if anyone would care about the concept, also that requires the app to be in a very advanced state, and of course huge marketing efforts.

I made the pragmatic call, ship a solo version first, validate the core loop, then layer multiplayer in gradually.

From a purely technical standpoint, I'm genuinely proud of what I built:

- Full observable state architecture from scratch: no shortcuts, no singletons, strict dependency injection top to bottom
- Custom design system with tokens, glass morphism, glow effects
- Raw SQLite with a hand-rolled storage layer (no CoreData, no SwiftData)
- Native MapKit + CoreLocation with proper permission flows
- In-app subscriptions, notification scheduling, a full onboarding system
- Module-level and app-level navigation that actually scales

( let me know if you want to know more about tech stuff, it's my pleasure to deep dive into it )

And here's the thing I keep sitting with:
the gap between "technically excellent" and "product people actually love" is enormous. I don't think I fully understood that until now.

I genuinely want to know:

1. Does this concept interest you at all? Real-world exploration, leveling up, wallet system, reputation points, quests tied to actual places around you.
2. If yes, what would make multiplayer feel right here? Async challenges? Live proximity-based events? Guilds? I have directions but no conviction yet.
3. What's the feature or flow that would make you open this app twice in a week?

if you want to test it: https://apps.apple.com/dz/app/go-next/id6768465063
also if there's other r/ that i can share this on please let me know

https://preview.redd.it/x5ajb4a4m32h1.jpg?width=2766&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=11eef1626504bb1cc8d6b8e21daa6795a808ce11

I built an app called NEXT, a local discovery + skill progression thing for iOS. Complete quests, level up, track mastery. A gamified real-world exploration, basically.

The original idea was bigger:
"start a game IRL".
Think real locations, real challenges, integrate businesses missions like delivery and ride hailing.. , but I had no idea if anyone would care about the concept, also that requires the app to be in a very advanced state, and of course huge marketing efforts.

I made the pragmatic call, ship a solo version first, validate the core loop, then layer multiplayer in gradually.

From a purely technical standpoint, I'm genuinely proud of what I built:

- Full observable state architecture from scratch: no shortcuts, no singletons, strict dependency injection top to bottom
- Custom design system with tokens, glass morphism, glow effects
- Raw SQLite with a hand-rolled storage layer (no CoreData, no SwiftData)
- Native MapKit + CoreLocation with proper permission flows
- In-app subscriptions, notification scheduling, a full onboarding system
- Module-level and app-level navigation that actually scales

( let me know if you want to know more about tech stuff, it's my pleasure to deep dive into it )

And here's the thing I keep sitting with:
the gap between "technically excellent" and "product people actually love" is enormous. I don't think I fully understood that until now.

I genuinely want to know:

1. Does this concept interest you at all? Real-world exploration, leveling up, wallet system, reputation points, quests tied to actual places around you.
2. If yes, what would make multiplayer feel right here? Async challenges? Live proximity-based events? Guilds? I have directions but no conviction yet.
3. What's the feature or flow that would make you open this app twice in a week?

if you want to test it: https://apps.apple.com/dz/app/go-next/id6768465063
also if there's other r/ that i can share this on please let me know

https://preview.redd.it/dzz3zcfmg32h1.png?width=2766&format=png&auto=webp&s=daf93675cda5c6e9d97959d18460b2444fc1f9b1